Association Distributes $2,745,000 in Patronage
Alabama Farm Credit was pleased to return $2,745,000 to our borrowers this year based on our 2008 financial results. This is the 11th consecutive year that we have provided a patronage payment to our stockholders. The 11-year total comes to $11,645,760.84.
Paying patronage is a direct result of our cooperative structure. Because you are our owners, you benefit when we do well. That’s the basic philosophy behind our patronage refund program. No other type of lender offers you such an advantage.
Lowering Your Effective Interest Rate
The most important benefit of our patronage program is that it lowers your effective interest rate. This year’s payment effectively lowered our stockholders’ average interest rate for 2007 by 68 basis points, or .68 percent.
You not only receive a competitive rate up front, but you also could receive a patronage dividend in years when the association does well. The more you borrow, the bigger your share of the earnings.
Every year, after the board of directors decides how much of the association’s earnings need to be maintained as capital to fund the association’s growth, we are able to return the remainder as a patronage refund to you.
Referrals Keep Business Growing
At Alabama Farm Credit , we recognize that our success depends on you. Our mission is to serve you well by providing the financing and cash management tools you need to be successful. And when you are successful, we are accomplishing our mission.
A good part of our success has been word-of-mouth referrals by customers like you. These referrals are invaluable in making the association effective. The more new business we generate, the bigger the profits. The more the profits, the more we can return in patronage. It’s a win-win situation.
Thank you for your business, and please call us whenever we can help with your financing needs.
